Quest Design
by Adela Heczkova, 1700076 Hook: Meet the lords and ladies of the court and learn about the fraction dynamics. Location: The courtroom Story: The court has gathered for a planned speech by the king Vanderbilt II, the main character Ailemer learns about the coup being planned by leaders of 3 important fractions. Now he must figure out who these leaders are and what exactly their plan is. Go out and socialize, part 1: Quest type: This quest is entirely dialogue based, it teaches the player the core mechanic of the game while introducing the game world to them. Acquisition: The quest is received automatically at the start of the game. Goal: Learn about the dynamics of the courtroom Walkthrough: After the initial cutscene, the player gets to control their character, they are given a tutorial on how to move and interact with the world. They are encouraged to go and talk to individuals around the courtroom and to try and make a good first impression. The first time, they enter a dialogue, they will be given a brief explanation of the speech system mechanics. After the conversation is over, the player will see the effect it had on their standings. The player is encouraged to speak to at least 2 more people, doing so unlocks another part of the quest. Go out and socialize, part 2: Acquisition: The first part of the quest is passed Goal: Find and get friendly with the coup leaders After learning of the tension and disagreements, the player unlocks the option to talk about a possible coup. They should try and figure out who the leaders of this coup are and to appeal to them. There are 3 leaders in total, giving the player a better chance of succeeding. The player will be given hints about their identities by successfully passing the conversation checks with other court members, they should be wary, though, as not all the hints will prove useful and some might lead them off track. Successfully locating and passing the speech checks with either of the tree leaders will trigger the cutscene of the king’s speech after which, the player will be given the location and time of their upcoming meeting with the coup masterminds. This ends the quest. Should the player fail the speech checks, lowering their standings with the fraction, the game will continue in the courtroom, giving them another two shots. Failure: Failing to get in contact with all three leaders will not end the game but it will make the game significantly more difficult, because it would, most likely, be caused by the player’s inability to pass conversation checks, which results in their overall standings being low. The player will be given the option to continue playing the game or retry the mission with a lower difficulty. Special content: Engaging in a casual conversation, while not necessary to progress, can prove useful as the player is more likely to learn about the dynamics of the court and possible weaknesses of individual fractions. This unlocks new dialogue options and possible side quests which would help the player improve their standings.